//------------------------------// // What Would A Mother Not Do For Her Child? // Story: The Wife of the Old Draconequus // by misskoifishpony //------------------------------// “Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word.” George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) What Would A Mother Not Do For Her Child? “Abacus Cinch speaking.” Echoed Abacus Cinch’s voice slightly in the silent, ominous, nightshade home study. Her voice muffled through the tiny speakers of her royal purple laptop.  The moonlight and pitch black sky shining from the windows complimented the darkly lit office so well. Such light even gave glimmer and shine to the school principal’s glasses in the midst of this lightless void. While the artificial, bright screen of her laptop shined upon the two mysterious yet well dressed gentlemen by her office’s doorway. The light gave prominent attention to the dark sunglasses they wore, the deep black color of their suits and ties, and the stern expressions on their faces. While their attention was focused on the recording, Abacus subtly shifted her gaze to the open folder that she hid behind her laptop. In the open folder was a document titled, “Last Will & Testament of Curta Cinch”.  No matter how much she told herself not to read it, her eyes couldn’t help but do so. She knew this document like the back of her hand. The number of times she’d read it were simply incalculable, having thoroughly memorized it to the point she could recite it perfectly. She told herself not to look for it, yet she did it anyway. “To Abacus Cinch.” Later down the document read, “I devise and bequeath guardianship of Fluttershy Cinch’s trust until she has reached the age of eighteen.” Trust.  Abacus’s mind recalled this term clearly from the definition section of this document. And according to this short will, “trust” means Curta Cinch’s entire estate and property, real as well as personal.  And knowing that information as she did, forced her tohid her gritted teeth behind her closed frown. Her hand subconsciously commanded her hands into tight, balled fists.  This Will… this unnecessarily short Will… her last written testament on this earth…. everything that her mother had… all too neatly placed within one trust alone… and that trust belonged to her.  To Fluttershy.  To her sister’s daughter. To her sister. To Sunf…  If only she knew all this beforehand… before taking her mother’s vile deal on the day of her sister’s funeral. “Oh please, dear,” Her inner voice hissed. “Just admit it. You would have taken the deal anyway if you knew.”  Despite how unearthly and demonic this voice sounded, Abacus couldn’t help but find her own voice to match it, ignoring the somewhat concerning implications that came with such a thing. “Do you honestly have nothing better to do than to criticize me?” Abacus argued with her inner voice silently.  “And you do realize that the girl is eighteen and out there in the world without you?” Her cruel inner voice responded. “Without your guidance? Spending allll that money… without a care to spare.”  Suddenly, Abacus’s mind couldn’t help but punish her by presenting a memory she would rather forget. Her thoughts flashed back to when her own mother pushed her out of the house. Her younger self cried and begged, groveling shamelessly upon the ground. But, this didn’t provoke any emotion from her mother, only her signature cold yet stern look before elegantly closing the door on her face. Her younger self ran to the door, calling out her mother’s name, and struggled to open the locker door with all her strength.  She looked so tall then. Towering over her till her shadow consumed her completely. It was like looking upon a stone monolith, cold, hard and unfeeling …  “Why did I…?” Abacus silently sneered in pain as she felt a quick but sharp migraine like pain in her head. Despite its short appearance in her mind, the pain of such sting lingered. The principal made a note to herself to run for her medicine cabinet as soon as this meeting was over. “Hello?”  Abacus’s muffled voice interjected, breaking the lull of silence in the room at last. Breaking her attention away from the will…. and her thoughts. Every individual in the office brought their attention closer to the laptop, their ears lingering on that static quiet. This quiet did not last long as the fast click ended the call. Cinch reached over to the keys and stopped the recording.  She lifted her cold, narrowed leer to her guests and this prompted one of them to question, “And you believe that this call was from your niece?” “Who else would know my personal number gentlemen? Only my daughter, my maid, and my niece have this number.” “Any calls from this number or any other unknown number since then?” The other man in the room inquired. “No,” said Abacus as she closed her laptop. Before she rose from her seat, she pulled out a red folder that was underneath the folder for her mother’s will. Once in her arms, she slowly directed herself towards the straight laced men.  “However, I was able to track the number to Leapdon. As to where in Leapdon,...”  She reached into the pocket of her jacket, and pulled out a written check, which she was quick to present to the two strangers.  “That’s where you gentlemen come in.”  As one of them politely reached out for the check, Abacus recoiled it back like a viper ready to strike its prey. Then, she reminded them in an icey tone, “I expect nothing but the utmost discretion, gentlemen. If any of you breach this particular element in our contact, do expect an expensive lawsuit and a ruined reputation among the aristocrats of this country and beyond. The Cinch family is well regarded globally after all. Is that understood?” “Understood,” One of them affirmed in a deep tone, with a little bow of his head. “We shall not fail you, Ms. Cinch,” The other affirmed right after, following in his partner’s lead by bowing his head as well. “Nor your family.”  With a murmured, unconvinced scoff under her breath, she slowly handed over the check. No matter what she said,... what matter what she did or ever did in the future,... in the end,... these men would always be loyal to her mother. Not her.  Tension of the office was soon broken when the front door to the Cinch household opened. Abacus focused heavily on the sound of bags being placed by the front door, along with the sound of steps passing by the closed office doors. “Sunny,” Abacus commanded sternly. “Come here for a moment.” Abacus couldn’t help but roll her eyes and groaned once she heard the faint, annoyed moan that escaped her daughter’s lips. The doors to the office flung open due to Sunny’s careless and belligerent touch. As for the Men in Black wannabes in the room, they swiftly stepped away from the flying doors in order to avoid their blow. However, their faces showed no concern or surprise when this occurred.  As for Abacus, she was completely yet silently appalled at what she was witnessing. Sunny wore an outfit that the principal could only describe as “trashy”. Added to this, the attire was completely torn and stained to the point beyond salvation.  Her school uniform from earlier was nowhere to be found… for the third time this month. The girl’s scent absorbed all the booze, drugs, and illness that occurred at the hormone induced party from earlier. And this scent completely conquered all the air in her precious office. Sunny’s hair was a mess, her heavy makeup was smeared, and dark circles weighed down underneath her already cold yet unforgiving eyes.  “Hmm, my my,” The inner voice taunted. “I wonder who she got those eyes from huh? Certainly not from her father.” “Shut up, shut up, shut up,” Abacus internally fought back. After she did so, another surge of pain stuck her mind. “You rang, Cinch?” hissed Sunny in her slightly drunk but mostly tired state, making a point to emphasize her hiss at the end.  Abacus’s attention turned towards her guests, in order to hid her frustrated yet annoyed expression from her daughter. She quickly composed herself during this turn and commanded the men in the room, “Gentlemen, could you wait outside for a moment? I would like a word with my… daughter.” “Of course,” One of them responded, before closing the doors behind them. Once the two were alone, Abacus’s attention returned back to Sunny. Before she could say anything, Sunny quickly interjected with, “Ugh, could you, like, do me a big favor Cinch and hurry up with this whole grounding thing? I neeeeed some sleep and I’m too tired to put up with your-.”  With a wave of her free hand, Abacus replied with, “There’s no need for that tonight. Instead, I believe I have a proposal that you will find quite… appealing.”  “It better be, Cinch.”  Abacus gave her daughter a subtle, but nasty look before walking towards her office window, “Things have become dire in terms of the case surrounding your cousin’s disappearance.” “Do you mean the case surrounding my cousin running away from you for good, and thus making the best decision of her life?” Sunny commented with a smirk. “You know, that kind of dire. Yeah, I think I’ve heard.” “Hold your tongue,” Abacus snarled. “Oh c’mon! You know that I’m right,” Sunny continued, her smirk grewing with each word uttered, utterly unfazed by her mother’s wrath. She couldn’t even help but let out a drunk chuckle through her smirk. “As I was saying,” Abacus responded, drawing back her anger and returning to her previous tone, “things have become dire when it comes to finding your cousin. The law enforcement in this town are completely useless, the mayor is an idoitic fool, and the media has been no help done to our cause.” “Don’t you mean your cause?” “Do. Not. Test. Me.” “Oh I’ll stop,... as soon as you stop making it too easy for me.” “Sheesh, she’s quite clever when she’s drunk, isn’t she?” Then, Abacus mentally calmed herself with, “Just be patient, Abacus.” “As a result,” Abacus explained further. “I had no choice but resort to The Cinch Security Force.” “I thought those guys looked familiar. Haven’t seen them since Aunt Sunflower’s-” Abacus whipped around furiously at the mention of her sister’s name. She gave her daughter a fiery look and scolded, “I told you to never mention that name in this house!” “Why?! Because only you, and you alone are allowed to say her name?! Wow, once again Cinch, you never fail to be hypocritical! Not to mention cruel!” “One more smart remark out of you and I’ll shred this!” Abacus aggressively presented the red folder, unconsciously going against the perfect plan she had laid out in her head beforehand.  Sunny’s eyes fluttered in surprise at such a presentation. However, such shock didn’t last long and her tired yet bored expression returned, “Uh, what’s that?” Abacus’s gaze widened as she realized what she had just done. What her temper and impatience had done. She quickly regained her posture and demeanor. Then, she took a step back from Sunny and answered in a fake casual tone, “Oh this? It’s nothing much. Just the ticket to an early departure from this household.” “You mean, I don’t have to wait until I get into college to move out?” “That is correct.” “Pfft! I don’t believe you. There’s no way that you, of all people, would propose something like that in a million years!” “Then again,” Sunny then thought to herself, somehow maintaining her clarity of mind. “She is desperate.”  “You’re right, Sunny,” Abacus responded honestly, “I wouldn’t. Which is why I need you to do something for me in return.” “Ah, there is. The strings. I should have known,” Then, the young teenager groaned. “Alright Cinch, what is it that you need me to do?” “I need you to accompany The Security Force and find Fluttershy.” “What?!” Sunny exclaimed, any sense of alcohol induced lethargy immediately leaving her. “You’ve got to be kidding me! There’s no way that I do that! I knew you were desperate Cinch, but I didn’t know that you were crazy too!” With one eyebrow lifted, Abacus questioned, “Are you saying that you’re refusing my offer?” “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Cinch.” “That’s too bad, my dear daughter.” “I told you to never call me that,” Sunny mumbled angrily. But Abacus ignored this mumble and explained further, “I was rather hoping to give a little extra reward to go along with your new ticket to freedom. Maybe,... perhaps,... oh I don’t know,... the name of your biological father?” Sunny’s eyes slowly widened at the mention of her father and her mouth fell slightly in shock. Abacus had just witnessed something truly rare from her rebellious daughter: silence.  The older woman waited patiently for her child’s response in the darkness. She quietly absorbed all the distress and stupor slowly spreading across Sunny’s face and body. For a moment, Abacus could see Sunny tremble a little.  “Wha… What?” Sunny stuttered in disbelief softly, “What did you… just say?” “You can even have his address if you wish. But, based on your current interest in this conversation, I can see that you have no inkling to visit and converse with him. So, I’ll just-” “NO! WAIT!” Sunny emotionally called out, while desperately reaching out to her mother.  Abacus stopped instantly at her daughter’s plea, halting her journey to her desk. Abacus smirked with great satisfaction before turning around to face Sunny. The smirk did not last long and her composed, resting expression returned.  “There’s no need to shout, daughter,” Abacus scolded insincerely, “If you’ve changed your mind, you could have just calmly said so.” “B-Before I accept your deal,” Sunny stuttered in horror along with a bit of disgust in herself for being brought to begging. “I want to know one thing.” “Go on,” said Abacus, giving her the permission to proceed with her question. “How long… how long have you known?” “About his location? Oh just recently, I assure you,” Abacus lied. “I was going to tell you sooner, but given how… ‘busy’… your schedule has been, I haven’t had the chance to tell you.” “You… you were?” “But of course,” Abacus lied once more. “He is your father, you have every right to this information… that is… if you behave and do as I say.” Sunny trembled once more and tore her gaze away from her mother’s eyes in order to process everything that was going on.  The more time she spent in this room with her, the more air she felt leaving her body. It was suffocating. She felt like the walls were caving in slowly all around her. This office was getting smaller and smaller by the minute. Sunny was feeling everything all at once. Hope, anger, sadness, guilt, confusion, greed, selflessness, and maybe happiness? It was hard to tell.  After so many years of being emotionally numb,... Sunny’s mind and body didn’t know how to respond to this fast rush of emotions. She didn’t know if she could make such a decision right now. All of her common sense and logic was leaving her. But her mother gave her no time to properly think things through. “So,” said Abacus, presenting the red folder in front of Sunny once more. “Do we have a deal, my dearest?” Sunny lifted her bewildered and shaky gaze just high enough to see the red folder. She couldn’t see her mother’s patient yet calculating gaze, too busy drowning in her own emotions.  Sunny’s hands acted on her own, shakily reaching towards the folder. Without reflecting upon what her hands were actually doing, she grabbed it. Abacus released the folder with ease. As Sunny defenseless stared down at the folder, with fear and hope, Abacus directed back towards her desk.  “Thank you so much for assisting The Security Force on this matter, Sunny. They shall be most appreciative for all your help. Oh speaking of, could you be a dear and let them back in? There are some details that need to be ironed out before the three of you can venture out and find your cousin.” Before Sunny could respond or move, the office doors behind her opened. The two men in suits welcomed themselves back in. As they walked past her, her mother quickly shifted her attention towards her guests.  Sunny had lost all sense of what to do. She could feel the tension of her building emotions inside her body as she stared at the scene before her. Her feet slowly and hesitantly moved her backwards without her even realizing it. Before Sunny could question anything, she was out of the office and ran up the staircase. As for Abacus Cinch and the Security Force, none of them were aware of the medium sized fae sitting on Abacus’s shoulder.  The fae was a white Macaque-like creature. A fuzzy, seemingly cute ape from afar; but, if you glanced at it carefully, you can see that the seemingly soft fur was actually prickly and sharp. There was a black undertone to its white fur that covered the creature’s face instead of the white fur. Adding to its menacing appearance were the dagger like claws on its hands and feet. These hands were petting and stroking Abacus’s slightly frizzed, bunned up hair. Fangs subtly protrude from it’s tiny mouth. It’s thin lips were closing to Abacus’s ears, moving up and down in a hushed manner. A mouth that was easily overshadowed by its huge, glowing, aye aye like eyes. The glow from these eyes highlighted the heavy bangs that hang under Abacus’s cold stare.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Cake had just pulled out a fresh, warm, dry load of laundry and carried it to Sunny’s room. As she folded the heavenly scented clothes upon Sunny’s bed, she couldn’t help but think about her children and her husband waiting for her back home. Making the long day’s of work all worth it. Just to kiss her babies good night. Just hop into a warm bed with her husband. Mrs. Cake let out a tired yet soft smile instinctively at such thoughts.  Suddenly, Mrs. Cake jumped at the sound of the bedroom doors swinging wide open and hitting the bedroom walls behind them. The maid spun around as fast as she could, and was met with the instant collision with Sunny. “M-Miss Sunny?! What’s going-” Before she could finish her question, Sunny answered by wrapping her arms around Mrs. Cake and sobbing into the understanding woman’s shoulder. Sunny dropped the red folder upon the floor as she tightened her hold on Mrs. Cake. Mrs. Cake’s surprised and tense body relaxed as she returned Sunny’s hug. “There, there,” Mrs. Cake whispered in a comforting tone, “I’m here, dear. I’m here.”